Gates starts building sodium nuclear reactor

I saw that article and read it.

Very interesting.

Great example of new technology potentially changing the dynamics of a particular technology - in this case energy production.

quote from the article in Trollbait post #1
"Gates told the audience at the groundbreaking that they were “standing on what will soon be the bedrock of America’s energy future.”
“This is a big step toward safe, abundant, zero-carbon energy,” Gates said. “And it’s important for the future of this country that projects like this succeed.”"

Both he and his ex wife are wonderful world citizens using their wealth to help make the world a better place for all of us.

 

Sodium cooling - not a new idea - but if/when exposed to air or water ... instant reaction being fire starting to much more violent reaction .... then there's hydrogen off gassing. I'm sure it'll be fine. What could go wrong

.

 

Anything to get away from pressurized reactor vessels. I would prefer molten salt with a thorium fuel cycle but sodium is well understood. Molten salt vs high temperature metals . . . a hard problem.

Bob Wilson

 

MIT agrees this is breakthrough technology and much safer,

How hot salt could transform nuclear power | MIT Technology Review
"But a growing number of companies are working to tweak this formula in an effort to improve on cost and safety. In the case of Kairos, the company plans to use an alternative fuel called TRISO, which is made from tiny uranium-containing kernels that can be embedded in graphite casings. TRISO fuel is robust, able to resist high temperatures, radiation, and corrosion. In addition, the reactor’s cooling system uses molten salt instead of water.
Molten salt could be a huge help in making safer nuclear plants, Blandford says. The cooling system in water-cooled reactors needs to be kept at high pressure to ensure that the water doesn’t boil off, which would leave the reactor without coolant and in danger of overheating and running out of control. It’s technically possible to boil salt, but it could only happen at very high temperatures. So those high pressures become unnecessary."

Pretty neat how these technology pioneers are ignoring naysayers and pessimist and jumping into these new technologies to develop breakthrough technology innovations. It mirrors what is happening in the Automotive industry and many other seemingly stale industries.

There is a lot of research and practical applications going on with Sodium now
Researchers develop high-energy, high-efficiency all-solid-state sodium-air battery (msn.com)

 

Yes didn't Adm Rickover test this for subs? If so, my father was involved because he worked as engineer as nuke reactor expert at Westinghouse Bettis Labs. Dad also was on the start-up for the Shippingport reactor, sometimes considered the first peacetime reactor for power gen, that was also under Rickover. Of course you can imagine what my father said about his work: silence...

 

Seawolf used one (575 boat, not the new one.)
S2G reactor - Wikipedia
I think the Rooskies used this plant in at least one of their Project 627 'Kit' (Whale) boats.

They didn't scale up in subs but I'm digging the technology for a land based plant in Wyoming.

Hence the name for the sub service.
(Something that the kids over at Coronado could take a lesson from!)

 

Here is yet another advancement in nuclear power generation

Researchers upend long-held belief in nuclear reactor breakthrough: 'Our results defied even our own imaginations' (msn.com)
"What they found is that carefully crafting the surface of materials used in nuclear reactors can actually change when and how liquids boil — a discovery with massive implications for reactor safety and performance.
It was long thought this could only happen above 446 degrees. But by etching a special pattern of microscopic pillars onto the surface, a research team at Virginia Tech demonstrated this effect can start at just 266 degrees.
Why does this matter? Because it enables water to boil and turn to vapor much more quickly, preventing dangerous overheating and improving the cooling of nuclear fuel rods.
The potential benefits are enormous. More efficient heat transfer could boost the power output and lifespan of reactors, making carbon-free nuclear energy cheaper."

Pessimist and naysayers who continually rail against anything that threatens the status quo are having some really bad days.
Hopefully this technology revolution continues and takes the automotive world by storm offering new modes of transportation and fuels..

 

having lived through the seabrook and plymouth debacles, i'm glad the people in the wyoming area are the guinea pigs

 

I’m old enough to remember when Gates building an experimental nucular reactor out west would have has a VERY different reaction from the usual suspects…..

 

You could maintain a Nitrogen atmosphere around the equipment.

The Soviets came out with a submarine reactor that used molten lead for cooling. You got a lot of power out of the system but if you ever turned it off, the lead in the system would freeze up and you'd have to somehow remelt it before you restarted your reactor.

 

In the back of my mind, I seem to remember a sodium reactor freezing up like that too.